Interludes of Shadowy Light 2: Ienzo and Kairi
by foxworth
Summary: Sequel to Nobody, Nothing, No Matter. Part 2: Ienzo and Kairi: Ienzo wants to fit in at his new home on Destiny Islands, and Kairi is doing her best to help, but sometimes the past is hard to leave behind.. 1 of 4 parallel stories, see profile for others
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! Welcome to the second installment of the "Interludes of Shadowy Light" saga.

Let me explain: While this is in fact a sequel to my story "Nobody, Nothing, No Matter", it is only one of many (at least 4) stories branching off of the original. This one follows Ienzo's story (yes, Ienzo, not Zexion—see 3NM), while the others follow other characters. These stories may or may not end up crossing over with one another, so by all means, please visit my profile to see the others!

Also, a little mini-disclaimer: I do use a real-life song in this chapter, but this is not a songfic!

Alright…here we go!

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><p>Ienzo loved everything about his new home. He loved being able to go to the beach whenever he wanted. He loved having a new family—Sora and his parents had helped him find tons of books to replace the collection he'd lost. He even loved sharing a room with Sora, though he knew no self-respecting teenager besides him would ever admit something like that. But he couldn't help it; the room was perfect. With the round lavender rug he'd insisted on putting in, the little blue bed that fit perfectly against his wall and the beautiful mahogany desk Sora's parents had put in for their studies, the room was one of the few places where Ienzo really felt at home.<p>

And the view! The window that split the boys' room between them had an amazing view, looking over the market place and out to the sea. In the early mornings like this one, Ienzo couldn't resist dragging the desk chair across the room and resting his head at the bottom of the window frame, gazing out at the rising sun. Today was even prettier than usual—the sun was still red as it rose from the sea, its brilliance fading to a warm orange that spread across the sky, and the water below positively dazzled in a field of diamond lights…

"Ienzo! Honey, it's time for school! You don't want to be late on your first day!"

Back to reality: Ienzo jerked out of his seat, his eyes snapping out of their dreamy daze, and set about gathering his supplies off the desk for school. School…how did he let himself get roped into this? Even before Zexion, the boy had never taken a class consisting of anymore than himself and his professor, whoever that adult was at the time. He had never needed public school—he had aced every test shoved under his nose, completed every exercise, followed through every experiment. So why was he being through into the lion's den now…?

Oh wait, that's right…he'd volunteered.

"Ienzo! Sweetie, please come down, your breakfast is getting cold!"

"Coming Mrs. Nomura!" Right, so…he'd grabbed the reading list, the books on the reading list, the grey shoulder bag to carry the books on the reading list…pens, pencils, his trusty Book of Retribution (just in case, he always told himself)…yep, he had just about everything he needed. Now he just needed to check on one last thing…

He had the ritual down to a science at this point—the self-imposed routine helped keep him in the safe, rational mindset of his scientist days. Step one, check the lock on the door. Step two, close the blinds, no matter how good the sun felt on his still-pale face. Step three, sit down in the middle of the rug, cross his knees, hold his hands close to his chest…and prepare for the latest test.

Ienzo had a secret, one that he had picked up from a new friend shortly before arriving on the islands. The minute he realized it was there, he had clamped down on it and studied it, practicing ways of coaxing it out into the open. The process had taken weeks—it was an unpredictable secret, and it was not always cooperative—but the last three days he had finally found a way to consistently trigger its rise to the surface. To be honest, he was surprised he hadn't thought of it sooner. It was such a simple solution: a song, a few lyrics that struck a chord somewhere deep inside his heart. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind of all thoughts...and slowly, quietly, began to sing.

"There's-a fire, starting-in-my heart…reachin' a fever-pitch and it's bringin' me-out the dark…"

Nothing yet…not unusual, but still concerning. The last few times there had been a wisp of something by now…he focused on the timber of the song, closing in on what it said. He remembered why he'd chosen the song—For Axel, and he had gone through so much pain to find Roxas again. For Spectro, who'd lost so much and still had the strength to carry on. Even Sora, with all of his courage and optimism in the face of so much darkness…this song, to him, encompassed everything they meant to him. It was a trigger: a perfect conduit to bring the secret out into the real world.

Ienzo brought them all into his heart's focus, trying as hard as he could to make their stories resonate with him the way they had when he last saw them. Then, only once he was sure that they were there, at the core of his heart, he began to sing again.

"Finally I can see-you-crystal-clear…_Go-ahead and sell-me-out-anda-I'll-lay-your-shi'-bare…"_

Yes, it's coming—that cool, peaceful wave, flowing through his arms and out his hands…he kept going, eyes closed, not wanting to peek for fear of breaking the spell:

"_See-how I leave with every-piece-of-you…Don't-underestimate the things that I will do…_

_There's- a fire, starting in-my heart…reachin' a fever-pitch and it's bringin' me-out the dark…"_

There…that was enough. He opened his eyes, and he gave a small smile of approval—the light coming from his hand meant that the song had definitely been a success. Ienzo's hands were cupped around each other, close to his chest, cradling a small, glowing, dark-blue orb. He held the orb away from himself to get a better look, and even more of the inky light began to shine, this time from the palms of his hands. The light grew from his palms in smooth tendrils, like living water, joining with the orb and expanding its shape into that of a long, rounded rod.

This was it; this was Ienzo's secret. As little as he knew about this power, he definitely knew what it was, and what to call it: not blue, but the indigo light, a shade of fractured light accidentally bestowed upon him by the guy who had mastered every shade. And now he could study the indigo however he wanted.

"Ienzo? C'mon Ian, I know you don't wanna be late—let's go!"

Uh-oh, time to go—Sora was calling for him now, and Ienzo was really running late if that guy was telling him to hurry up. He jumped up, panicking, trying to find a good way of hiding the bright staff…when he noticed that it had changed. He couldn't say exactly when it had happened, but at some point, by the time he had turned his attention back to it, the glowing pole had lost its luster. In fact, the more he looked at it, the more he began to wonder why he had been so worried about it standing out. After all, it was just a long stick basically, heavy in his hand, but otherwise fairly unremarkable. Just a long, brown, wooden stick…

Wait, no! It suddenly changed in his hand, back into the bright staff from before, and he almost dropped it out of the shock. The surprise was even enough to knock him off balance, and he had to grab a hold of the bedpost just to keep from tripping over his own feet. Once he had his breath back, he stood tall and held the thing out in front of him. It was amazing…right before his eyes, the indigo rod faded back to a dull brown, twisted at the head and shank into itself to form tiny grooves along its surface until it looked indistinguishable from the average hiking stick. This could work, he thought…the perfect disguise for his little secret. But how did it do that? Was it a part of the indigo's power, or…had the staff pulled from his own illusionary talents? He certainly hadn't cast any spells over the stick himself…

Well, that would have to be pondered another time—he had other plans for today. Picking his bag back off the floor and slinging the strap over his head, Ienzo passed the staff to his left hand, pulled Retribution out of his back with his right, and opened the door to head down to the kitchen.

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><p>Well, that's it for now! I'll post the next chapter as soon as I get at least one review, so please read and review!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Well, I'm back with another chapter! Don't worry everyone, Kairi is appearing in this story, I assure you—in fact, she's just here, at the very beginning, so enjoy!

Also, on a side note, I know this story is subject to KH fans, but I just want to share: the DC Comics, from which I draw much inspiration for the "color" side of these stories, are rebooting their continuity starting September, and the promo-covers are awesome! Check this one out at speedforce . org/2011/06/kid-flash-dcs-teen-titans/

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><p>Leaning over her house's fence, she could see the boys coming up the hill—late and rushing, as usual. Smiling, rolling her eyes, she thought to herself, how did he do it? No matter how much she tried to influence her boyfriend, he just could not seem to ever meet her anywhere on time. Now here he was, running in his giant shoes and silly uniform (which they both hated, seeing as it made her blouse-and-skirt uniform look even peppier), to reach her, barely keeping their mutual friend intact as he tore through the dirt road.<p>

"Kairi! Kairi, we're here! Wait up!"

Sora did look ridiculous in that school uniform—in his navy polo shirt, long khaki pants, and oversized leather loafers, he looked like a spiky squirrel stuffed into the clothing of a golf jockey…and Ienzo didn't look much better. Sora must not have even given the poor bookworm a decent warning before pulling him along, because his uniform was coated with orange dust. The little guy could barely keep on his feet between Sora's tugging and his attempts at keeping what looked like everything he owned on his person. He could have easily been juggling it all by the looks of it: his book bag, his journal, his staff—hang on, where did he find that…?

Well, she thought, I guess I'll find out in a second—just then, Sora reached her house and stopped, nearly somersaulting with excitement, right on the edge of the sidewalk in front of the fence. He took a moment to catch his breath, then darted his head up to flash that trademark-adorable smile of his.

"Sorry we're late Kairi, but it's not my fault this time, I swear!"

She couldn't help another smile on her part—darn it, she could never stay mad at him!—before she leaned over the fence to look into his bright blue eyes and ask, "Well…whose fault is it then?"

"Um…I'm afraid the fault lies with me." She managed to tear her eyes off of Sora long enough to watch Ienzo swat the dirt off his pants with his journal. It was too bad he had gotten so dirty—at least _his_ uniform fit him. He seemed to fit it too—his face, which was usually pretty reserved to begin with, was completely blank as he gave one last whack to his right leg, then slipped the book into the bag slung over his shoulder and faced the couple. He still had the long stick in his right hand, and he brought it into himself with both hands and clutched its wooden frame guiltily. "I fell a little behind schedule, and Sora saw fit to make up for the lost time by dragging me through the Great Dustbowl. We're not too late, are we?"

Ahhh, Ian…for the past month or so, Kairi had tried her best to get Ienzo to relax a bit, but…for some reason, he had always shied away from her. From both her and Sora really—he'd gone with them to get school supplies and hang out and so on, but there was always this wall between them and him. Every now and then, one of them would crack a joke and make Ian laugh, and for just a moment she would see something in his eyes that hadn't been there before…but then the moment would pass, and he would crawl back into his shell. He wasn't exactly sullen, or shy, but...it was like he was always holding something back…

"Kairi? We…I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"What? No, of course not!" Lord, he looked so concerned…these were the Islands, didn't he understand that he didn't have to be afraid anymore? "No, no, we have plenty of time to get there, I just…"

"Ohhhhh…yeah, don't worry about it Ienzo—Kairi's just making sure that I'm not slacking off as usual." Only Sora could take something this uncomfortable and turn it around into something sweet…he stepped up to the fence, sliding his arms around Kairi and moving in close enough that her breath fell short. "Right Kairi?"

"Uuh-huh…" She moved her hands to hold him the same way, and her head began to positively swim in the warm gooeyness that she always felt looking into those big blue eyes. Another smile, another blush, and she leaned into his embrace until her head almost touched his chest. "Sora…"

"Yeah…? Oh, yeah, on it!"

"…wait, what?" Kairi didn't even get the chance to register anything—she just squealed as she suddenly flew into the air, lifting up and over the fence to land right by her boyfriend's side. His strong arms managed to place her down just gently enough that she didn't lose her balance, and once she was sure he wasn't going to pull anything else on her, she let loose a giggle that put Selphie's displays to shame. "S-Sora, you bonehead! I…thank you, but…what'd you do that for, you lazy bum?"

"Hey, I thought you could use a little help." She looked up at him, eyes misty from the laughing, and he took the chance…to steal a quick kiss on the lips. When he pulled out, he looked down at her with those beautiful baby-blue eyes, and he said, "You know I'd do anything for, Kairi."

There: that was perfect. She couldn't have asked for anything more. Kairi closed her mouth in a small smile, then buried her face in his chest, whispering softly only to him. "I know."

"Um…Sora? Kairi? School won't wait forever for us—shouldn't we be heading over?"

Who…oh, Ienzo! The love-struck girl managed to focus enough to look back at the other boy, who had already pulled out his journal and began leafing through it to pass the time. Kairi untangled herself from the increasingly self-conscious Sora and reached around her back to grab her other arm—a nervous tick she'd never thought to kick. These days, with Ienzo around all the time, the tick seemed to be popping up more and more… "Oh, right, right…Destiny High is just down this side of the hill, I'll show you!"

She started down the hill, practically galloping as fast as she could without letting her own books slide off her shoulder. The boys took only a moment to catch up, and soon they were all racing, like a bunch of crazy teenagers, to the school at the end of the road.

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><p>Awww...that came out so much sweeter than I'd planned. I've never really done all-out romance like this before, so please let me know if that was any good!<p>

Please review. Reviews to me are like the Internet to my Fanfiction addiction; they take everything I can do by myself and give me even more to work with!

And hey, I rhymed too!


	3. Chapter 3

You people have no idea how lucky you really are…I have good news everybody. Starting now, I will be updating this story, and potentially the others in the Shadowy Light series, far more frequently. In fact, you can probably expect me to post a chapter every few days! My reason for this: I dislocated my knee (3 TIMES IN 3 YEARS! ARGHHHH!), so I have my handy dandy laptop keeping me company until I can leave the bed/couch/horizontal position. Enjoy the fruits of my misery!

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><p>He couldn't believe it—nobody knew the difference. Sure, Kairi had looked a little suspicious at first, but Sora—the lovable goon—had distracted her just enough to avoid any unnecessary questions, and frankly Ienzo couldn't have planned it better. The lovebirds were so obsessed with one another, he didn't even need to bring up any of the easily plausible stories he'd planned to use in the event of an inquiry…though he was a bit disappointed that the work he put into the alibis was just going to waste…<p>

Well, no matter: on to the next challenge. And this particular challenge stood directly in front of him—in the form of a building, a towering column of solid white brick.

"So…this is the Destiny High School."

"Yep. This is it."

"Wow…I…can't remember the last time I actually went inside."

The trio stood side by side, looking up at the building, and a feeling of mutual dread passed through them all. The two native islanders had already experienced the crème-colored halls inside and knew what to expect, so they linked their hands together for support, but the little bookworm who had never so much as stepped with fifty feet of a school was left to stare into the dark unknown of its many windows and doors. As usual, he did what he did best—he analyzed his fear away.

"I see why people think public schools are so inefficient—a campus this large, for only a secondary school? No wonder the education system never has enough money…"

"I…guess so…?" Sora, for all of his selling points, always fell short in these sorts of conversations—the sorts where he had to process sentences with so many clauses. Not that Ienzo held that against him—intellectual pondering wasn't the reason the two of them were friends. Fortunately, Kairi knew this just as well as he did, so she pat her confused boyfriend on the shoulder for reassurance before stepping forward and turning to face both boys.

"Well, we can't wait here forever. Ienzo, you've got French first with me, right?"

"Y-Yes—"

"Sora, I'll meet you outside your history class after first period—you still have your schedule?"

"Uhhh, yeah, right here…"

"Good, just follow that. C'mon Ian, I'll show you the way." She didn't even bother to wait for him to respond before spinning around and speeding through the doors of the school, leaving a very lost Ienzo to chase after her.

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><p>"Kairi? Kairi?"<p>

Figures...not two steps into building, and already he'd lost her in the crowd. And looking for her certainly wasn't going to do him any good—the place was crawling with kids, many of them taller and faster and generally bigger than him, so there was very little to suggest that he could find her in time to get to class, even if he could squeeze through the masses.

Now how was he supposed to get to class? How was he even supposed to find it? She hadn't given him a map or a tour or anything, she'd just left him…

_Don't be afraid. Look to others._

That certainly got his attention—he'd definitely heard that voice in his head before. Well, not exactly heard, but undeniably understood and recognized for what it was. He just hadn't expected it to come to him now…he'd thought only Spectro's colors talked. _Indigo? Are you there?_

While the space in his head that the indigo possessed remained as blank as before, Ienzo was not left in the dark. On the contrary, the staff in his hand responded to his call, creating a small split in its wooden façade, right along the head of its frame, and let a trickle of liquid color slide down on to the boy's hand. Ienzo's head was bursting at the seams with questions—the scientist in him craved the chance to pull out his notebook and jot down his observations—but he only watched as the trail of indigo wrapped itself around his hand…and pressed into his skin.

Right then, it was as if some great light had been switch on in his head, and he could see everything and anything in front of him. He had to hold in a near-scream as where there had once been a cacophony of other kids and lockers and classrooms…there was even more. At the first door on the left, a group of girls were giggling…while a swarm of orange orbs stood floating behind each of their heads. A little further down, a jock was shooting red darts out of his eyes at a small boy in glasses, who had only a feeble yellow shield around his head to defend himself. Across from them a boyfriend and girlfriend were embracing each other with both arms and purple vines.

And there was even more. The colors weren't just in or around people but…floating free in the center of the room. It was amazing—every time two people touched, or talked, or waved, a green tether was made between them. From there, even if the kids moved on from that spot to somewhere else, the green wafted, joining together with other greens, other colors, endlessly connecting and spiraling in the air to create…

"…_a sea of green…"_

_Contact._

Once again, the indigo had another surprise for Ienzo—the world of green spread out before him, separated from the hall, and shrank into a sort of…three-dimensional map positioned in the palm of his unoccupied hand. In it, he saw every color from the hall come to life...and focus on a mixture of violet, yellow, and indigo lights wrapped together in the shape of a very familiar looking girl.

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><p>"Hey, there you are! Where have you been? I thought you were right behind me."<p>

A slightly disheveled but pleased Ienzo dashed half the length of the hall to catch Kairi just as she was about to enter their French class. He still had that big stick in his hand, and she meant to ask him about that, but he reached her and piped up before she could get the chance.

"You left me behind, you really need to work on that, don't worry though, I'm surprisingly good at navigating crowds, let's go inside!"

He never even stopped walking—Kairi might as well have been a lamppost as he walked past her and into the classroom, babbling like a hyperactive word processor the whole way. She looked to the door, out at the confused students he'd blazed past, back to the door…and just shook her head in bewilderment. What else did she have to do but to follow him in? At least she knew he was excited—that meant half of her job for today was already done. Now she only had her classes, and knowing the first day formalities, those were going to be a breeze.

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><p>Sorry this one was so long, but…you know…bum leg. Plus, I figured it's been going so slowly so far, I'd put in a little extra this chapter! Don't worry though, the pace is going to pick up, I promise!<p>

Please review. I like reviews—they're fun to read, and they remind me I'm not just writing into a black hole.


	4. Chapter 4

Well, I got another review on the last chapter—and this one was, like, within a couple hours of posting! As such, I've starting writing this next chapter the same day as when I posted the last, something I almost never do—though I suppose I should be at least starting the next two installments of "Shadowy Light"…

Well, how about I let you guys decide! Please, when you get the chance, go to the poll on my profile and vote on which storyline you'd like to see me spend more time on: this one, Marluxia/Larxene, Axel/Roxas, or Demyx. Thanks! Now, back to our program…

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><p>If only the first day could be kinder…as most new students will tell you, the first day can make or break the rest of your socio-academic career. It's all about presentation. Come to school in a leather jacket, jeans, and a bad attitude, and you'll be feared and respected. Come to school with a sports jacket and a trophy, and you'll be worshiped and adored. And if you come to school with a giant wooden stick and an overflowing book bag…well, Ienzo didn't exactly set the best of first impressions.<p>

"Monsieur, what on earth are you bringing into my classroom?"

"Umm…" He hadn't even sat down yet, so he had no choice but to comply when the spindly French teacher crooked a wrinkled finger to summon him to her desk. She sat in her rolling chair, waiting impatiently for him to explain, but he couldn't—he just wrung his hands around the staff and prayed for a miracle. "Well, I…"

"Oh, Madame Cousteau! I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce you!"

Saved by the bell…or rather, he thought, saved by Kairi and her impeccable timing. Obviously she would be better at getting through to this Ms. Cousteau—the old lady's stony face finally softened once she saw the girl bounding up to them.

"Ahh, my dear! Welcome back Kairi, I'm so glad you decided to continue your studies in French. You were one of my best students last year!"

Almost on command, Kairi blush a bright red, dipped her head, and curtsied. "Thank you, Madame. This is my friend, Ienzo." She reached around to grab his shoulder—and shake it just enough to loosen the death-grip he'd kept on the staff. "He just transferred here from our new sister school. I'm sure you've heard of it: Radiant Academy?"

Of all the brown-nosing schemes…and yet the lady was eating it up, like Kairi's word was gospel. "Oh yes, of course! Bienvenue, Ienzo, we are so pleased to have you here!"

"Yes, we're happy to have him too...although, as his ambassador to Destiny High, I do need to tell him about his condition…" Seriously, ambassador? Condition? Since when did Kairi have such an imagination?

"Oh? What condition?"

"Well, his weak bones. I don't remember what it's called, something medical…but the point is his body is very fragile. He's already broken his feet…how many times, Ian?"

"Uhh…a lot?"

"Right, a lot, so he needs his walking stick with him all the time—in case he hurts himself again."

Ienzo knew that it was a fairly flimsy excuse—he'd studied many such disorders back home, most patients required medical tags and leg braces and far more assistance than he had present—but still, Kairi could do no wrong by this woman!

"Oh I'm so sorry, my dear! Go, go, sit down, you'll have nothing to worry about from me. Enjoy your first day!" She waved them away, and they certainly didn't need to be told twice—the two kids made a break for the nearest desks.

"So…do I get a thank you?"

The little minx! Ienzo was still processing the fact that he wasn't in any trouble, while Kairi already had her feet outstretched and her hands back behind her head! "I…I'm sorry…_You're_ a Princess of Light?"

"Yep. Not a drop of darkness in me."

"And yet…" He smiled back at her. "…you are evil."

"Hey, I do what I can. But you do owe me an explanation on that stick…"

And then, Madame Cousteau stood up and spewed some unintelligible French commands, signaling the beginning of class.

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><p>The rest of the day broke done into a very similar pattern—after running between classes to observe the different colors he could find, Ienzo would meet with his next teacher, either explain his "condition" to them or call Kairi over to do so for him, and sit down to the droning of administrative forms and classroom expectations. The stigma that came with the stick actually wasn't as bad as he thought it would be…at least the teachers knew enough to leave it alone after Kairi was through with them. Still, the other students didn't take to his oddity very kindly…the ones that didn't stare ignored him completely.<p>

Eh, who cared? Ienzo had always been the loner, and if he couldn't change that on the first day, he wasn't going to push the issue anymore than he had to. Besides, he still had the Book of Retribution with him—give him that and a solid pencil, and he could probably spend hours just jotting down random notes.

So that's what he did the whole day—as soon as he made sure no one around him was going to bother him, he pulled out Retribution and wrote about everything he had seen that day. By the time he reached his last class, Chemistry, he had committed to paper quite a collection of observations on the colors:

_Red: Anger, obviously. Mostly liquid-looking, very few solid manifestations. Always acidic? Produces heat, found mostly near eyes, chest, stomach. Location in person important? Disappears when combined w/blue_

_Orange:? A lot of girls, though age group may make unreliable. Compact, stays in place relative to person, draws in other colors. Consumes colors? Requires closer look…Pompousness? Pride?_

_Yellow: Seems split: one=fear, other=malice? Intimidation? Definite difference between them in behavior/shape/state. "Fear" is always non-solid, more energy/electrical. Passes between hearts easily—contagious? Some around head/shoulders (physical tension result?), others run along arms, especially if person is mobile. Other one solid, acts like green, or red. Usually directed at other person/thing. Colder._

_Green: Most common by far, around head/arms/hands. Exists longest outside of set heart. Most stable, always liquid or solid, forms definite shapes. Maybe represents idle brain activity? Non-emotional thought? Most active when person is working to/on something…actions of person correlate to movements of green._

"_Blue": Sky-blue most accurate description. Less common, but very bright in comparison. In head only. Always seen w/green color, disappears when combined w/red color .Happiness?_

"_Indigo": dark blue, bluish-purple. Apparently least common? None detected beside self—indigo maybe not detect other indigo?—except Kairi held some…requires closer look._

_Violet: Most prevalent when object of desire is near, i.e. Kairi and Sora. Most likely love/infatuation? Dissolves into gas-like state when object of desire is not present, fades/shrinks/lessens after prolonged separation._

_Green can survive outside heart entirely, other colors must transfer directly from person to person/group. How? Why?_

"Alright everyone, who doesn't have a lab partner?"

"…What?" Ienzo had been in the middle of pondering his last few notes when he looked up and realized…everyone else was gone. Well, not _gone_ gone, but he was the only one still sitting in a desk—the rest were sitting at black slate lab tables around the room, looking at him and wondering who was the freak sitting all by himself. Panicking, he jolted up and scanned the room to find Sora and Kairi—this was the only class they all had together, they'd look out for each other—but the teacher came up to him before he got the chance to run.

"Ahh, Mr. Ienzo, is it? It looks like you're the only student left without a lab partner…" The teacher, a middle-aged man in a lab coat whose hair was starting to grey at the temples, looked down at his attendance sheet and tapped the paper with his pen. "It looks like I'll have to assign you to a group of three at random. Now, where to put you…"

No…it was one thing to have class with and suffer the silence of these kids—the last thing he needed was to have to be forced to talk with them! It was a direct relationship—the more awkwardness between him and his peers, the more distance was needed between them. He wanted to cry out against this injustice, just ask to be put with Sora and Kairi and let it be done…when suddenly, without any warning, a new, peculiar-looking student practically punched the door open and ran into the center of the room.

He was short—not a nice thing for Ienzo to think, but seeing as most people were half a head taller than him, it was reassuring for him to know that he wasn't alone in that department. Still, once he got past that, he saw that the new guy must have been really athletic. While his arms and legs were still proportional to his tiny frame, the muscles on this guy looked as if they were carved out of his skin. Just looking at him, Ienzo started going through all the different names of muscles and thinking of how he could find each one on this kid just on the shape alone…though he had the good sense to shut that train of thought down before it got him in trouble. Ugh, if he could just get a look at his face…he had bent over to catch his breath, and all Ienzo could make out was the neat matt of brown hair which, despite its attempt at normalcy, still wound up spiked at the ends. Still, something about him was off…but what…?

"Mr. Atari! Late, as usual…though I don't remember finding you on my attendance list this year."

He finally stood up straight, showing off a flashy smile and bright blue eyes. "Yeah, about that Mr. Gingrich…they transferred me into your class last minute. Yeah, yeah, I'm as shocked as you. Think you've got room for me?"

What a perfect case of karmic justice—the chemistry teacher couldn't hide the way he gripped his clipboard with every syllable of this new guy's peppy chatter. Ienzo had hide his face behind Retribution to hide the laughter creeping up on him, though the rest of the class was a little less polite. What he wouldn't have given to know what kind of history these two must have had…the kid certainly looked the part of the rebellious kid.

_That's_ what looked so peculiar about him! Everyone else was wearing the uniform, but this sandy-looking guy had taken the limits given and stretched them about as far as he could. The legs of his khakis were rolled up to his knees (showing off some great calves—no, stop that!), and he'd added a beige vest to the outfit. Well, at least he was able to look good in his rebellion…

"Ahh, Mr. Atari…a pleasure, as always. As much as I'd love to turn you away, you've actually just _solved_ a problem for once. Here…" He pushed Ienzo up to the guy. "…this is your new lab partner. Now sit down until the end of class."

And so he left them there…a scrawny little boy, hiding behind his overgrown head of steel hair, and this cut-out from a _Lord of the Flies_ film. For reasons he didn't dare mention to anyone else for years to come, Ienzo made the most awkward first-move of his life—he stuck his hand out for a handshake. "H-Hello. My name is Ienzo."

The other kid looked down at the hand, cocked his head to the side to see if Ienzo was serious…then chuckled and shook the hand back. "…Well, hey, I'm Tidus. Welcome to Chemistry."

He could have died.

* * *

><p>BAM! Didn't see that one coming, did you? I swear, I don't know where I get these ideas, but that one came out of nowhere, and I just thought, "Why not?". Let me know what you guys think—I'm debating how big a role Tidus should have, but if you guys like him, I'll keep him!<p>

Please review. I like reviews. They just look so nice when they pop up on my email, they put a smile on my face—even the anonymous ones (thanks for last chapter's, whoever you are!)


	5. Chapter 5

Ooookay...I have to warn you now...this chapter is long. I mean, about 1000 words longer than I'm used to. Sorry, but alot of small-but-meaningful stuff happens here, and I wanted to get it all in now, so...present for you all? Sure, let's go with that!

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><p>"So…guess we should go sit, huh? Before Mr. Grinch decides to start my weekly detentions early."<p>

"What…oh, yes, of course. Sit…"

As they walked over to the last available lab table and sat on the tiny stools, Tidus tried to get a read on his new lab partner. What was with the giant stick? He seemed really attached to the thing, keeping it by his side even once they sat. And that name, "Ienzo"…was he Spanish or something? He didn't have an accent or anything…though honestly, he didn't really show anything all that distinctive about him. That steely hair was a bit of an eye popper, but beyond that…the slouch, the book, the invisible eyes under all that hair…nope—he wasn't the type to try and stand out at all. Tidus had never gotten people like that...still, if he was going to spend most of this class with him every day, he figured he'd better get to know the little squirt before that giant book swallowed his head for good.

"So…you're new in town?"

Just as he thought: Ienzo had laid that mammoth of a book down flat on the table, and he wouldn't even look up from his book to answer. "Yes, I'm…a family friend of Sora's."

A tough nut to crack…eh, why not? Tidus needed a challenge, and this kid needed someone to teach him some manners. He leaned across the table, resting on his elbows, and tried again. "Ok…mind telling me where you're from?"

Man, this Ienzo kid was really into that book…other than a puff of air to push the hair out of his way, he didn't so much as flinch. "Oh, I'm next to positive that you've never been there, if you're even aware of its existence—"

"So you're an off-worlder then, right?"

And there it was—he finally reacted! He stopped moving his head over the page and looked up a fraction of an inch. "…You know about the other worlds?"

Seriously? Did this kid think he was stupid or something? "Dude, I watch the news—I know about that new transit system they've set up between here and those other city-worlds—Twilight Town, and Traverse Town, and…"

Aaaand he lost him again. Back to the book, back to the conveyor belt of his head moving from one end of the text to the other…back to pretending the guy across the counter didn't exist. "…uh-huh…"

…Ok, _one_ more time…though he was half ready to slam this pompous little know-it-all's head into that book and shut covers on it. "Alright then. Well…nice stick you got there." And it was a nice stick: long, solid looking, probably pretty dependable in a fight—

"If you're going to make any nasty comments about it, please keep them to yourself. The staff is my business."

"Ok, that's it!" He lunged across the table and wrenched the book out of Ienzo's hands, setting off an audible whine from the little jerk. Once he was safely back on his side, Ienzo lunged back at him, arms flailing for what obviously felt to him like a newly-lost limb.

"No! Give that back! I swear, Tidus, you do not want to get on my bad side…!"

"Oh, so you're done talking down to me now?" Holding the book in one hand and holding—literally holding Ienzo off with the other, he flicked the book cover back open and let the pages fly by to the bookmark on the most recent page. "Because if you're not, I can do this all day. Now what is in this book that is so interesting?"

At that, Ienzo stopped flailing and went back to his seat. The excitement had pushed the hair out of his face, and Tidus was surprised to find that the pretentious little guy was actually…kind of sweet looking. Between the small, just barely pointed chin and the even smaller blue eyes, Ienzo definitely fit the label of "baby-face". Not that it was enough to make him let his guard down—the scowl on his face meant business. "Tidus, that book is more than simply a book: it is my journal. I write down every thought that I wish to preserve in that journal, and I hope that you will have the courtesy to—"

"Yeah, well, you should have thought of that before you treated me like a know-nothing two year old. Now let's see…" He looked down at the last page of the book—sorry, he thought, _journal_—and decided that he'd make good on his threat. "Red? Anger? Orange? What is this—YEOW!"

A quick skim was all Tidus got—out of the blue, he felt something hit him square on the back of his head, and before he could get the stars out of his eyes, the little sneak had pulled the book back out of his lap! He looked across the table, and the kid was back in his book, a smug look on his face and that long staff in his right hand like a baseball bat.

"Did…did you just whack me with your staff?"

"Yes, I did. And don't say I didn't give you proper warning."

Twit! Conniving little twit! "What the hell, man? Y-You can't just hit someone with a stick if something doesn't go your way! Of all the stupid, crazy, idiotic—you're not even holding it right!"

For a minute, nothing was said. Ienzo eyed him like he'd just accused him of putting wings on pigs—Tidus wasn't entirely sure if he hadn't done just that. He hadn't even consciously registered it yet, but he knew he was right—Ienzo was holding the stick at its very end, with just the one hand.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

Well, he'd walked into that one, hadn't he? More like crashed and burned into it, but either way… "Ugh, just give it here." He plucked the staff out of Ienzo's hand without any trouble, and this time the kid didn't struggle. The new guy had finally said something interesting, and Ienzo waited with wide eyes to see where it went. "See how easy it was for me to take this from you? That's because your grip was weak, and you were holding it off towards the end. The closer you are to its center of gravity, the better chance you have at actually keeping it with you." To demonstrate, he held the staff over the table between them, completely parallel to its surface, and moved his left hand to the back end of stick, just before where it narrowed. Once he had a grip there, he flipped his right hand around it held the stick palm-up. "See, you're never gonna find the perfect place to hold it one-handed. Just find a basic middle and keep it between your hands like this. And your dominant hand should be like this with your non-dominant hand the other way, so you get the most leverage. That way, you can put more force into it."

The whole way through, Ienzo took in his words and listened carefully. By the end, all of the haughtiness had disappeared, leaving his face completely neutral, though Tidus could practically see the gears spinning in his head. This kid…he wasn't the kind to accept anything unless he understood it in and out, was he? Sure, they'd gotten off to a rough start, but in that moment Tidus saw something that he could respect in the guy. He just hoped that he was getting through to Ienzo enough for him to drop the pretentious act.

"Here, you try."

Ienzo didn't seem quite sure what he meant—he was too busy trying out the physics of it all in his head—so Tidus gave the stick a light toss into the air where Ienzo just barely caught it in both hands. He looked a little shocked by the impact, but once he realized that his reflexes were actually intact, he brought the staff in close to him…and did something amazing. His hands met in the middle of the staff, then slowly moved outward, memorizing the feel of every subtle bend and curve in the frame. His face was as passive as ever, but to Tidus, it didn't look like boredom: it looked like fascination. When he came across a turn in the wood or a knot on the surface, his face would light up, and his hands would scramble around the anomaly until he knew exactly what it meant. His excitement was obvious…along with everything else. That little kid with the steely hair wasn't locking himself away in a book—he was completely exposed, mesmerized as he searched for the spot where he had complete control over his staff. Finally, his hands stopped, and he looked up with a slight smile on his face. "I think I have it."

"…Wow. Y-You sure?" Tidus started to reach across, but Ienzo saw him coming and wrenched the staff to his right, keeping it just out of his reach. They both couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, you sure do have it…y'know, I've been using one of these for years—I could show you at some point."

"A staff?"

"Uh-huh. Sora and I and a couple of our friends used to pretend-fight out on the play island all the time, so I just sorta picked it up from there and never stopped. Whattaya say?"

Ienzo took a moment to respond—he looked a little hesitant, like he was afraid of something—but when he finally spoke, he sounded softer and…kinder than he had been the whole class. "I…would like that, yes. Thank you. And, please, call me Ian."

Ian…nice name. Yeah, this guy, he seemed…nice. "Sure, no problem…Ian."

* * *

><p>"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"<p>

"Mmm…what…?"

Sora had fallen asleep at some point in the middle of class, only to be nudged awake by an ecstatic Kairi seated next to him. He looked up from his slumped-over daze and followed his girlfriend's extended finger to see little Ienzo on the other side of the room…sitting with someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Wait…is that…?"

"Yep—that's Tidus!" She couldn't have been more transparent—even Sora could hear the bubbliness creeping up in her voice. Sora, on the other hand, was less bubbly and more…surprised.

"Wow…I don't think I've seen him in forever." And boy, did he look different. The Tidus he remembered was a scrawny, skin-and-bones fire cracker, the perpetually peppy little-brother type who never passed up a challenge. "He looks…bigger."

"I know, he's really grown! He looks great in that vest doesn't he?" No sir, she wasn't smitten at all… "Oh, he was always so cute, he was like my little brother back then!" Much better.

"Yeah, I think he did that with everybody…so what's he doing with Ienzo?"

"That's the best part—Gingrich put them together as lab partners, and I think they're getting along!" Heh, of course she was excited—Kairi had only been worrying about Ienzo fitting in all day. He'd kept telling her, he'd be fine, he still had them anyway, but she just wouldn't let it go… "I'm just relieved that he's finally coming out of his shell—I was afraid that we were going to be his only friends around here…"

"Kairi, you worry too much. Ian's a good guy, he wasn't gonna need us around forever."

For the first time since waking him up, Kairi turned away from the other boys and looked back to Sora. She was trying to hold back her blushing, and even though she was failing miserably, she smiled a little coyly. "I _know_, but…he's been around all month, and…i-it's not like I don't want him around, you _know_ I like him, but…"

He may not have known much, but Sora always knew what Kairi was trying to say at times like this. He chuckled a bit before making things easier for his girlfriend by bringing her in close, so that she was leaning against him and looking up at his face. "…you just wanna have more time with your boyfriend, right?"

He took the words right out of her mouth—she sighed in relief, then relaxed into him and closed her eyes, humming contently. "Mmm, yeah…thanks for understanding…"

"Don't mention it…" He brought a hand up to stroke her hair, and for a moment…he felt completely content. Kairi was here, Ian was fitting in great—all was good with the world. "Kairi, I just wanna say, I—"

**BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM**

It all happened so fast: the world shook for just a moment, and everything fell apart. Kairi fell on top of Sora as they both dropped to the floor, glass shattered, someone screamed—the floor lurched to the side, then leveled itself again. There was more screaming, and soon after running and shouting and chaos everywhere. Mr. Gingrich called out to everyone from somewhere to remain calm, but it was no use—someone pulled a fire alarm somewhere in the building, and the sprinklers soaked everything, covered everything in sheets of rain…

But Sora didn't scream—he didn't panic. He jumped into action, his need to protect overriding any fear. Immediately, he pushed Kairi over so she was on his right side, in the narrow space between tables. He then jumped on to his feet and checked to be sure she wasn't hurt. No cuts, no bruises, she just appeared glassy-eyed—shocked. "Kairi, you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine…"

She started to get up, but Sora grabbed her shoulders and held her back. "No, don't get up, you're safer here! Get under the table and don't move until I tell you to!"

"Where are you going?"

"I've gotta make sure Ian's alright. Now don't move!"

He didn't wait for a response—he turned and ran across the room, to where Tidus and Ian had been sitting…and where an entire section of the ceiling had collapsed to the floor. He couldn't see either of them through all the wreckage.

"Ian! Tidus!" No answer. "D-Don't worry guys, I'll get you out!" Summoning the Keyblade for the first time in months, he brandished it like they'd never separated, winding it back before sending it in for the first cut—

**BOOOMMM**

Another blast, another earthquake—no, not an earthquake. The Keyblade had stuck in something…and all the rest of the rubble had been blown away by the impact.

It was a giant, unearthly, indigo bubble: clear as glass, hard as diamond. Inside were three sights which, tried as he might, Sora could never forget. On one side, there was Tidus, knocked out cold and face down, but otherwise unharmed. In the center of the bubble, there was the staff, split open by the strange substance that had extended above and below it to form the shining cage...and on the other side, there was Ienzo.

His hands were unmistakably sealed to the side of the bubble, cocooned by the bubble where it met the ground and became jutting and rock-like. Along the edges of the seal, the indigo persisted…but it was replaced with a yellow hue where it met his hands. He was awake, thank goodness, and he wouldn't stop staring at the growths around his hands.

"Ian! Don't worry, I'll get you out of there, I promise!"

But Ienzo wasn't listening anymore…he could only mutter the same phrase, over and over:

"No color…no color…no color…"

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><p>And this is where I leave you all-one cliffhanger after another, MWAH-HAHAHA! Seriously though, I'm not entirely sure about how this chapter worked out, so please let me know what you think. It's much appreciated!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you so much for the reviews everybody! Spiritwinned, good to have you back; anonymous, glad to see you're still in touch. I want you guys to know that I definitely take everything you guys say into account, and I'm glad I'm keeping you from getting bored. Believe me, I while I do have plans for where I'm going, nothing is set in stone, so I'm on my toes just as much as you all. Oh, and anonymous, in response to your last review: don't give me any ideas! The only thing I can guarantee is that if something does happen between Ienzo and Tidus…I don't do sex scenes—too boring, I'd rather have earthquakes!

So sorry that it's taken me so long to update...this chapter was especially difficult, if only because it's hard to write Kairi without turning her into a Mary Sue. Also, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting in my usual repetitive rut, writing-style wise, so if you feel that way too, by all means, write in any advice you can on how I can spice up my sentences. Thanks!

And on that note, off we go!

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><p>The disaster was wrapped up quickly by all of the authorities involved. Water damage on the outer islands was quickly contained and converted into disaster-relief, injuries contracted on the main islands were treated, and the rebuilding of all the affected buildings was well underway before the sun set on the first day. The residents were lucky—ever since the meteor showers over a decade ago, the mayor had made disaster-preparation a top priority of his administration, and as a result there wasn't a single fatality throughout the entire ordeal. A quick round-about of bureaucratic procedure, followed by a reassuring statement released from the front steps of city hall, and the people of Destiny Islands were in safe hands. They had nothing to worry about.<p>

Ienzo did not have that luxury. When Sora pulled him out of the bubble and brought him back to his senses, he had a lot of explaining to do. It took quite a bit of effort on his part—the innocent half-truths ("What is that substance? I swear it isn't my doing!"), the idle suggestions ("Such a strange material…sturdy substance, highly resistant to pressure, crystalline structure…have you seen the crystals in Radiant Garden?"), the outright lies ("Who could've guessed that my staff contained those crystals, just waiting to be unleashed!")—but as he well knew, Sora was one to doubt his friends. Even Kairi came to accept his explanation over time, especially when the "crystals" retreated back into the staff on their own—solid proof, right? From there, it was only a matter of waking Tidus up, making sure he was awake and back on his feet, and they were set—another adventure taken on and finished off in record time. All the explanations made perfect sense…if only the truth was so clearly cut.

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><p><em><span>Change in hypothesis: colors may be more unreliableuncontrollable than previously believed. My established control of the indigo is not absolute._

_Case in point: Yesterday, Thursday, the first day of school. Indigo was fully summoned and operable, shaped into the previously-assumed form of a staff. The color's basic shaping/identifying/navigating powers were confirmed as completely intact until approximately 1:45 PM—the beginning of chemistry class._

_At that time, the indigo had been rendered into its normal, inert state under the staff façade for the sake of discretion. Said color was left inactive for a period of at least fifteen minutes, until reactivation was attempted in response to a geographical threat._

_The indigo did not respond until the absolute last possible moment, when the roof collapsed and the indigo present in the staff emerged to protect myself and my companion at the time, Tidus._

_Speculation as to indigo energy's resistance to mental command: Lack of physical contact? Interference from Tidus' proximity? Fear of threat canceling out attempts at indigo? Requires further investigation…_

Ienzo stopped writing there, feeling a sudden urge to get very far away from the unknowns in that book. The claustrophobia was kicking in too—the room in the tree house was cozy, but just a little small for someone his age, and he needed to get out and feel the sun on his face. Close the book, put the pen down, jump up, grab staff, get out, get out—there, good. He was outside…

He was on the tree house balcony, on the island where Sora and the others came to play. Ienzo didn't come here often—he always felt like he was intruding on something that wasn't his—but on days like this, when he was alone and wanted to get away, here he came. From here, he could see the waves sliding up and down the shore—see how the sun tinted everything a slightly-white color, even on a cloudy day.

From the hole in the tree that served as the gaping doorway to the tree house, Ienzo rushed up to the railing and stretched his arms as far along it as he could, closing his eyes and breathing deeply over and again to shake off the pressure his research put on him. He wanted to relax—he _needed_ to relax—but he couldn't let himself step away from it for long. It was far too important—this was a force on par with the light and darkness themselves. Someone had to have the information to wield it effectively, for all the worlds' sakes. The worlds needed this research—they needed him, and they depended on him, and he just couldn't leave that feeling behind, and…and…

…and a breeze came in from the sea, brushing the tears out of his face and setting the hairs on his neck on end. He hadn't even realized he'd been crying…he pushed the wet streaks off his cheeks, almost embarrassed in spite of himself. One more deep breath…there, he was alright. That was another thing he liked about the beach—on this world, as he traveled further from the ocean, the humidity seemed to choke all of the free space in his lungs, filling him to the brim with that steaming smog they called fresh air. It was only close to the beach that the air remained somewhat cool, and the cooler temperature always helped to clear his head.

He was alright. The earthquake had been dealt with, his secret was secure…and the rest would be solved in time. There was no pressure…and that thought felt better than anything else. "I have all the time in the world…"

"Time for what?"

At that moment, Kairi climbed up the ladder and crawled onto the wooden deck, giving Ienzo just enough time to cast a quick glance towards the book inside the little hut and merge its image with the wood around it. He wasn't a fool—all the time in the world meant nothing if people began asking too many questions. By the time Kairi was on her feet and level with him, he had positioned himself between her and the tree house's threshold, arms out-stretched, appearing as the picture of innocence and idleness. "Kairi! Good morning! What are you doing here?"

She laughed. "Good morning? More like good afternoon…how long have you been up here?"

Afternoon? Come to think of it, if the sun was already visible on this side of the island, and the winds were as calm as they were…good lord, he'd been out for a while! "I suppose longer than I'd thought…come to see where your lovable little Ienzo's gotten to then?"

He offered up the rare, genuine smile, and with anyone else he would have been slapped down as a snide little know-it-all. Kairi wasn't upset by the comment though—she understood he meant well, probably more than anyone else, and after a small chuckle she leaned up against the railing, back to the sea, and relaxed. "No, silly…I just thought it would be nicer out here than back home. Dad's been going crazy trying to run everything, between the press and the construction workers."

"Oh? I..I'm sorry, I suppose it must be quite a burden on him...he's the residing mayor, right?"

"Yeah, he is..." She looked over her shoulder to watch the waves on the shore. Her pink mini-dress's zippers clinked together in the wind as she spoke, and her voice, while as strong as ever, faded to where it competed with their tiny notes. "He's...He's good at hiding it in those press conferences, but he's really stressed out over the earthquake yesterday—apparently the town committee only approved his disaster spending because they never thought they'd need to use it. Now half of the businesses are pulling their money out of the project, and the crews are going to half to work through the weekend to get the school fixed by next Monday…he's turned the entire house into a war room..."

She didn't need to ask—Ienzo was already standing beside her. "Oh, don't worry Ian, I'm—"

But when she looked back, he was…well, his stance a bit more direct, almost comical in its lack of subtlety. He was facing outward: palms planted flat, arms locked straight, and neck hunched over. He couldn't have looked more like a scientist, and the only reason Kairi didn't become concerned was because he had the ridiculous, scrunched-up frown to go with it. "Ienzo…what are you doing?"

In an instant, the frown was gone, and he looked to her with the largest doe-eyes she had ever seen. "Isn't it obvious, Kairi? I'm thinking of a solution." And then he turned away from her in fake-frustration, theatrically scratching his head with both his hands like a madman! "Think think think, must must think…come Kairi, I can't think alone—think with me!"

Was he nuts? He was never this…and then she realized—the little stink was making fun of her! "Oh…Oh shut up Ian!" She had half a mind to slap the back of his head, but she was laughing too hard to try. Ienzo was quick to revert to his normal demeanor, but he still spun back around and hopped to sit on the edge of the railing—just to complete the performance.

"Well I'm sorry Kairi, but personally I believe myself to be serious enough for the both of us. If you start to become depressed…now where does that leave me?"

"Heh, probably nowhere I'd want to go..."

"Exactly!" Had she ever seen little Ian with such a large smile? He looked so different when he smiled…less rigid and reserved. "So, are you feeling better? Less teenaged anxiety and angst in your system?"

"Yes, a _lot_ better! Thanks…" She had to wipe the tears out of her eyes from all the laughing, and while she did so…she noticed Ienzo throwing his legs over the railing so he could face the sea. She saw his wide smile settle into a tiny glimmer of contentment, as he watched the waves lapping at the shore, and suddenly a question popped into her head. "Ienzo…what about you? Are…are you doing ok here?"

She could practically see the shiver run up his spine, into his head and around his face to smother the smile with his usual reserved blankness. "Yes, I'm fine. Well, that is, I'm feeling well-adjusted here, if that's what you mean."

There was her reason for concern—she knew there was a reason for it. He wasn't even good at hiding it—his eyes wouldn't meet hers, only stare forward, beyond even the never-ending ocean. "Are you sure? I mean, I know it's been crazy for you too. I can't imagine how scared you must have been yesterday—"

"I was scared, yes…but I'm not afraid anymore. It was one isolated incident, nothing more. There is no rational reason for me to feel fear."

"Ienzo…" It was discouraging more than anything else—Kairi could help but feel like she was losing him every time he hid behind that scientist psycho-babble. She had to reach him…so she cut to the chase. "…do you remember what you told me and Sora, your first day here? About why you came here?" She took his hand in hers, and while he stiffened at the touch, he did not resist. "You told us that you'd spent years without a heart, and that by coming here, you wanted to be able to feel everything and be happy. Well, here you are—you're not with the Organization anymore, it's ok to let your guard down…Ian?"

He closed his eyes and sat in silence—no tears, but no smiles either. He took a minute to collect himself, his hand still in Kairi's…then finally answered:

"I know this, Kairi, but…I still have…predicaments to solve on my own." He turned his head to look at her calm, attentive face, and to her his eyes seemed to bleed volumes of turmoil, of some inner darkness which he grappled with alone. "I appreciate everything you have done for me, believe me, but there are some things which I must keep to myself. At some point, I may reveal them to you all, but for now…I need to keep them secret."

"I...ok…I understand." She was lying, of course, but she didn't want to lose his trust now. He'd come so far, he was learning to open up—she couldn't shut that down. "It's ok for you to keep some things to yourself every now and then…just don't be afraid to talk about it if you need to, ok?"

"Of course, Kairi."

"Good, 'cause whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me—I'm here if you need me, whenever."

It was a defining moment, she felt—Ian may have had his mysteries, but he seemed to comprehend her loyalty enough not to fall into one of his sullen moods. He simply nodded, gave a slight, warm smile…and pushed himself off the railing towards the tree house.

"Where are you going?"

He quickly ducked in and out of the house, taking just enough time to wipe the spell away from his book and grab it. "I think I'll take a bit of a walk—perhaps seeing whether anyone else is bored enough to come here. Lord knows that if you're here, then Sora at least can't be too far behind…" He extended a pale noodle of an arm to Kairi, the other arm tucked in with his journal. "Care to join me, Kairi? I don't know about you, but secrets or no, I feel like a little adventure."

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><p>Yeahhhh...looking back, I'm not sure this chapter's really me at my best. I'm sorry, I'll do better with the next one!<p>

Also, in case you haven't seen yet, I've put up the first chapter to the Roxas/Axel arc! Take a look if you get the chance, I think I've set it up for some interesting directions.


	7. Chapter 7

Ack…I've gotta get back into the swing of rapid-updating. Sorry everyone…this tends to happen to me a lot—I'll pop out a bunch of chapters in a manic fit of creativity and color, then flat-line on ideas for a week or two. I promise though, I can feel myself building up to the mania again—I will make you all happy!

Oh, and by the way, have I mentioned that I sometimes see these colors in real life? It's on and off, depending on my mental state and current state of life, and I can't do more than see them…but that's where I get most of the characteristics for this. I know it's not real, but hey, it works! Plus, I never said I was completely sane, heheh…

But enough of my crazy-real life babbling—here's my crazy-story babbling that you all love so much!

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><p>"Huh…Look who's here."<p>

Tidus spun around on the platform and crouched on his toes to get a better look at the doorway across the way. There, he could see two figures…one taller with red hair, the other shorter and with an unmistakable, steel sheen to his hair. Funny…he had never seen Ienzo on the play island before, nor had he ever expected the doe-eyed bookworm to be the type to come to it. Yet here he was—pulling the red head that Tidus now recognized as Kairi through the threshold and towards the old bridge.

"Hmm…Guess I'd better say hi, then."

Muscle memory kicked in before anything else—he jumped into the air, twisting himself around so that he landed on his hands at the base of the zip-line tower. From there, he let his legs fall so that his stomach was facing up, where he quickly shifted his weight to his feet as his arms pushed the rest of him up to a standing position, with perfect posture and everything. God, he loved doing that…but he didn't have time to relish in his own antics. The other two were already halfway across the bridge, and it looked like they had just noticed them, so he gave them a slight wave.

"Hey, guys! Good afternoon!"

"Wonderful, wonderful…everyone knows what time it is but me…." Ienzo didn't seem too happy with him—then again, he was having a pretty hard time jumping across the gaps in the bridge, so his crankiness was relatively understandable.

Kairi, thankfully, was not having as much of a problem. "Afternoon to you too, Tidus! Love the vest!"

"What…oh, right! Uh, yeah, thanks…" Damn…he really needed to remember to bring a shirt around these days. The vest alone was fine when they were kids, but now he ended up blushing every time someone sneaked a look at his tanned and toned chest—like Kairi was doing now. "Yeah, I…I try and keep fit. Come out here, run around a bit—"

"It shows!" She made the final leap onto solid ground, then ran up to Tidus and nearly knocked him over in a bounding hug. When she pulled out, she was all smiles. "So good to see you—you look great!"

"Yes, yes, he looks fine and dandy…whoa!" They both looked over at Ienzo as he almost tripped on the last landing, saving himself with a remarkable performance of kicking and flailing. The spectacle was very similar to that of a headless chicken trying to run off the butcher's table—he put up a remarkable fight…until he stumbled forward and fell flat on his face. Tidus couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor guy—especially with Kairi giggling at the sight—but Ienzo immediately clambered back to his feet, taking the time to dust himself and his book off before going on. "Right, right…well, what's my point? Oh yes!" He stood tall, sized Tidus up with a quick, once-over glance, and said, "You're fine, dandy…and uninjured. Yesterday, you were injured. Why are you not in a hospital?"

So blunt, so cold…but Tidus brushed him off without much trouble. Odds were that he was just trying to make up for his little tumble anyway. "Pff, you think I'd stick around? I went in, I got better, I got out. Or should I have stayed in bed all day?"

"Well, even on worlds like this, hospitals have procedures—"

"Where I'd be filed away in a room like some number on a spread sheet and forgotten. Sorry Ian, but fresh air's good enough for me—that and the sun'll get me back on my feet just fine." He surprised everyone, himself included, with the almost-snarl he gave at the end. Suddenly, Tidus started wishing he'd brought his staff down from the tower with him—he knew Ienzo had to mean well for Kairi to hang around him…but the hypercritical twit he'd met yesterday was starting to show again, and he wasn't standing for that. "Besides, shouldn't I be asking _you_ about hospitals? I heard you got a few bumps too went it went down—something about crystals? Fancy stuff there, off-worlder…who knows what else those crystals have done to you?"

"What are you insinuating?"

"Just that you show up here with no explanation, and next thing we know you're flashing about some voodoo stuff that only you seem to know about. How do we know you're not lying about them? Like, are they radioactive or something? No one knows except you, but you're not being very forth coming, are you?"

"Um, guys…" Kairi had started to shrink back from the boys, the animosity between them apparently bit too much for her, but Ienzo whipped his free hand out to stop her from saying anything else.

"No Kairi, let me handle this."

In a single step, he closed the space between him and Tidus, with Kairi hanging awkwardly a foot away, and looked Tidus right in the eye. It was a bit of a shock for the both of them—they were the same height, though both had expected to be looking up to lock eye contact the way they did with most people—but if the unusual circumstances at all fazed Ienzo, he refused to show it.

"First of all, I don't approve of your attitude toward me. While I can understand your small-town mentality, and perhaps some xenophobic paranoia, is setting in over my appearance, your ignorance is no excuse for accusations. You have no right to insinuate that I would hide any information that would bring harm to the citizens of this world."

"Oh yeah?" Tidus' fists curled, readied, but he never broke eye contact. The two's eyes were blue meeting identical blue, with equal power and equal fire visible within. "And just what're you gonna do about it?"

They stood in that moment for the longest time, each daring the other to break the bond and falter in resolve. Tidus refused to break—he was going to win, dammit, Ienzo wasn't going to beat him—so much that he didn't see the book rise in Ienzo's hand and position itself between them until he felt it press into his chest.

"I'm going to show you what I know."

The spell was broken. Tidus peered down as Ienzo dropped to the ground and began flipping through his book. Kairi got up the courage to rejoin them, and they both bunched together and kneeled behind Ienzo to peer over his shoulder at the book—now opened to a page marked as 15, much closer to the beginning than either of them had ever seen. In the center of the page, there was a shape which appeared to be a rectangle with two triangles at the smaller ends, with scribbled notes taking the rest of the white space.

"'Crystals are rocks and sediments which have undergone intense heat and pressure—the diamond being the most common and popular example. They are natural energy suppositories'—that means that they hold and store energy—" (Tidus started to say something in protest, but Kairi quickly shushed him) "—'having been found in studies to easily absorb electromagnetic, mechanical, and thermal energies, in addition to the energies of light and darkness. Once absorbed, the energy can be manipulated by conscious thought once a channel is created between the electrical impulses of the brain and the crystal itself—most often through tactile interaction. Uses included growth of crystal for architectural or artistic purposes, and the extraction and manipulation of the energies inside.'"

He looked up in a slightly dazed but happy tilt of the head. "See? No radioactivity—unless someone willed it to release its energy in form of radiation. And seeing as I was not consciously controlling the crystal when it, shall we say, _erupted_ from my staff, that outcome is highly unlikely."

Kairi was mesmerized by the notes spilling around the book—Tidus was simply amazed. Ienzo really did have the chops to back up his know-it-all airs. "Wow…they really work like that? You're sure?"

"Positive. They're actually quite common on my world, crystals…before the days of light and darkness, people used crystals to power everything from ships to stoves. Here, look." He twisted around to Tidus, sliding his weight from his knees to the side of his leg to keep the sand from digging into his skin, and held his right hand palm up, conjuring an image of a small, opaque, white crystal.

"Whoa!"

"Don't worry, it's not real—I'm an illusionist, it's just an illusion." To prove it, he swatted at the crystal with his free hand. The image shuddered slightly, like a reflection in water, but was otherwise unmoved. "I drew it from the book—it's what I do. Once I have access to a book, I can pull whatever I want from the world inside. Understand?"

"Ienzo, are you sure you should be showing—"

"Who is he going to tell, Kairi? Besides, despite his apprehensiveness…I believe he is good enough not to try to hurt me with this information." He looked back at Tidus with a somewhat cautious eye. "Am I correct to assume this?"

Man, Ian really knew how to put a guy on the spot…but oddly enough, Tidus didn't feel hesitant in saying, "Yeah…yeah, you can trust me. I swear." And he was surprised to find that he could trust him too, though he couldn't begin to explain why. Too weird…he turned his attention back to the not-crystal crystal. "So, 'tactile' means touch, right? That means…"

"…whoever touches the crystal can control it, yes. Like this…"

Ienzo moved hand to look like he was tapping the edge of the crystal, and a piece of the rock began to swell—like the head of a bulb on a tree. The bulb split open, and a zigzag of bulky rocks expanded outward. The growth reached as far as Kairi's hands, which were reaching towards it in curiosity, then shimmered for a moment before disappearing, along with the rest of the crystal.

"Wow…how do you know all this? I mean, about how it works and stuff?"

Ienzo had already started dusting off his book and settling himself—lesson over, time to pack up—but he took the time to answer, "My parents began this research years before I was even born—I just picked some of it up along the way."

"Your parents? I thought you lived with Sora…did they move here with you?"

All motion stopped—a pin would have thought twice before falling and breaking the silence. Ienzo's back had been to Tidus at the time, and Ienzo didn't move until Kairi put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. She whispered back to Tidus, almost apologetically, "Ian's parents died when he was really little. I was there when the rescue crew pulled them out—it was horrible. He doesn't like to talk about it."

But Ienzo bounced back quickly—pivoting on a foot to face his friends, he managed a half-hearted smile as he pulled his journal closer to him. "It's quite alright, it was a long time ago. Even so, I still have their research all packed away in here." He pat Retribution's front cover reassuringly. "Their hard work did not go to waste."

"Oh…well, good…" Awkward as it was, Tidus' heart began to pour with sympathy for him…but he knew better than to dwell on the subject. "…Hey, I thought I heard the crystal from your staff came out purplish or something—do they come in different colors then?"

_There_ was something Ienzo knew how to process. "Studies never investigate enough to find reasons or correlations…but yes, they have been found in a variety of colors. Sapphire blue, diamond white, ruby red—"

"What about black?"

"Black?" He brought a hand to his chin, musing on the subject a bit before responding. "I'm not an expert, but I wouldn't think that it's outside the realm of possibility. There's black light, of course, so maybe—"

"Quick, follow me."

Tidus bolted to his feet, then dashed to the tower a few paces away and began to climb the ladder to the top. Kairi was the first to follow him, with Ienzo close behind, and they both climbed after him as he shouted half-finished explanations.

"I don't know why I didn't say something before—I mean, it's weird, crystals or no—but I just found it this morning, and I—well, I didn't wanna—ah screw it, just take a look!"

When Ienzo finally crawled over the last step and onto the platform, Tidus and Kairi were already at the other end of the small planks, looking out to the beach on the other side. Kairi was tall enough to grab the top beam for support, but Tidus had to lean on his staff, newly reacquired and ready to aid as needed. Ienzo would have been happy to take a closer look, but seeing as the other two were glued to whatever was on the other side of the tower, he supposed it would be more appropriate to see what all the fuss was…

"Oh my lord."

The solid stone wall which had previously contained the beach had collapsed in the middle—a huge chunk of its rock had been blasted to bits, and the rest had fallen without resistance. The debris was spread across the sand, in the water…several trees across the way had been felled, shot down by the flying shrapnel. But the center of the blast site was the main attraction—there, embedded in the rock face, was a giant lump of crystal, glowing and unmistakably as dark as coal.

"Huh…So…you found this crystal this morning?"

"Yep."

"And it's been sitting here…all day…with only you aware of its existence until you showed us just now?"

"Uh-huh."

Well that settled it: they had, in their less-than-experienced hands, a gargantuan piece of immensely powerful material from God-knows-where, with only each other for back up. "Tidus…you, my friend, are a horrible tease."

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><p>YES! YES! YES!<p>

Ladies and gentlemen, I have good news: my slump is officially over! I tell you, the secret is Harry Potter—I picked up book 5 again for the first time in forever, read about 70 pages, and it just set me going again! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, because I fully intend to reap the foreshadowing I have sewn.

Oh, and I'm sorry if I'm getting some of my science off—attribute it to the nature of the KH universe.

Please review. I like reviews. They let me know if I'm going in the right direction—whether the reviewer likes the direction or not.


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